How Not To Lead Your Armada
by BeyondTheClouds777
Summary: Sequel to "How Not To Celebrate Your Birthday." Hiccup and his friends embark on a training mission on Dragon Island. But when Hiccup is captured by an old enemy, what was meant to be a simple test of stealth is now the shoreline of war even bigger then the Red Death itself.
1. Chapter 1

**Normal POV**

Life on Berk just can't get any better . . .

"AHA! Catch me if you can, Dragon Boy!"

. . . sadly, that means it can only get . . .

"Careful what you wish for!"

. . . worse.

"Why?"

Living on Berk, you have your friends . . .

"Because you know I will get you!"

. . . your family . . .

"On no you won't!"

. . . and everyone's favorite . . .

"OH YES I WILL!"

. . . your enemies.

Hiccup and Astrid raced through the sky on their dragons, attempting random swirls and twirls as they went. They were racing to Thor's Beach, a common beach among the many in Berk. Going in their seventh lap (out of ten total) around Berk, Toothless began gaining on Stormfly.

"No you won't!" shouted Astrid.

"Yes I will!" shouted Hiccup back.

"No you won't!"

"Yes I will!"

"No you won't!"

"Yes I will!"

"No, you won't!"

"Sure I won't. Watch this!" He shouted. Toothless blared off suddenly in a blur of black in the cloudless, blue sky. Astrid laughed as she watched Toothless and his rider drift further and further away from her and her dragon.

"Hiccup, so predictable. Why do you always do that!?" asked Astrid, shouting to get her voice over the extra distance.

"Do what?" asked Hiccup.

"Blast off at the last-whoa!" she shouted, steering Stormfly out of the way to avoid crashing into one of the statues on the island. She looked back, watching it disappear from view. "That was close," said Astrid. "Should we do something about that?"

"You could yell at it," said Hiccup, "although I doubt it would make a difference," he added sarcastically.

He leaned over Toothless, beckoning him to go faster. They did another lap around Berk, followed by more until they were on the tenth and final lap.

"First one to Thor's Beach wins," said Hiccup. "You ready, Bud?"

Toothless grunted and then blast off with Stormfly on his tail (not literally).

Toothless and Stormfly both landed on the beach at the same exact time. Hiccup and Astrid dismounted and approached each other.

"That was pretty awesome," said Astrid. "Why don't we race more often?"

"Well, five months ago, I had a broken leg and you had a broken arm," said Hiccup. "And it's hard to fly with either of those things. Especially during a race."

Astrid nodded. Hiccup was wearing the sand dollar necklace she gave him months before. He always tucked it under his shirt, so only the top part of the chain was visible.

"So . . ." said Hiccup, "back to the Academy?"

"Yeah," said Astrid. "Let's see what damage Snotlout and the twins caused this time."

They mounted their separate dragons again and took off towards the Berk Dragon Training Academy.

They flew through the entrance, and allowed their dragons to land. Hiccup and Astrid jumped off. Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut were doing Target Practice; not one of their better ideas.

"Hookfang, fire!" shouted Snotlout. Hookfang blasted a single fire ball. It blasted one of the barrels they were using for targets into about a million pieces that flew all over the academy. Hiccup put his shield up before any of the debris could hit him. After the fires ceased, he lowered it and strapped it around his back again. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were standing beside their dragon in the far side of the academy. Hookfang and Snotlout stood side by side in the center. Fishlegs was as far away from both of them as possible, flipping through the book of dragons.

As soon as he saw Hiccup and Astrid, his face lit up and he ran over to them.

"Astrid!" shouted Fishlegs. "Hiccup! You're training us today?"

"Yep," said Hiccup. "I haven't really been able to for the past five months, but now, we've got a lot to catch up on, don't we?"

"You bet we do!" shouted Fishlegs excitedly. "I was looking through the book of dragons, trying to learn more about the Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus."

"Did you find anything?" asked Hiccup.

"No, not really," said Fishlegs. "Nothing that we haven't already covered."

"Blah blah blah blah-can we get onto some real training?" shouted Snotlout. "Hookfang! Fire!"

The dragon fired more lava, desolating another barrel.

"What are you doing, Snotlout?" asked Hiccup.

"What's it look like I'm doing?" asked Snotlout. "Hookfang and I, we're breaking stuff!"

"YEAH!" shouted Ruffnut and Tuffnut, banging their heads together.

"First off, guess what we're going to do today?" asked Hiccup.

"Oh don't tell me don't tell me!" shouted Tuffnut.

"Uh...train?" said Ruffnut.

"I said don't tell me!" shouted Tuffnut, slapping his sister.

"I wasn't telling you I was telling him!" shouted Ruffnut, attacking Tuffnut back.

"Guys, please, focus," said Hiccup as if it were nothing new, because it really wasn't. "Okay, we're going to try something new today for training." Instantly, the twins stopped bickering and froze in an awkward posture.

"NEW!?" they both exclaimed, running to Hiccup. "What new?"

"We're going to practice getting around, with one leg," said Hiccup.

"That doesn't sound new," said Ruffnut.

"Yeah, you do it all the time," said Tuffnut.

"I don't mean like that," said Hiccup. "I mean like this."

He bend down and unstrapped his prosthetic.

"Cool," said Ruffnut, "but we don't all have prosthetics."

"But we could," said Tuffnut. "I'll go get an axe-"

"A what? NO WAIT!" shouted Hiccup before Tuffnut could run off. "I mean, on one foot."

"One foot," said Tuffnut. "Oh I get it. No I don't, sorry, what were you talking about again?"

Hiccup facepalmed with his free hand before he went on, reattaching his prosthetic as he spoke. "Five months ago, I broke my leg. So, let's say Toothless and I are flying, and then something happens where we crashland on let's say-Dragon Island. And I break my leg from the crash. Toothless is hurt and can't get to me, so I have to get to him on one leg."

"So-what are you saying?" asked Tuffnut.

"Never mind, you don't listen when I explain," said Hiccup. "So, let me show you." He pulled his knife out of his belt and threw it into the center of the academy. He took the shield off his back and threw it, landing just two inches away from the knife. "Okay, Toothless, don't help me," he said. "This is just for training."

Toothless cooed and moved to stand at the opposite side of the academy. Hiccup walked back to the other side, and then lifted his left leg off the ground, and hopped on one foot to the center.

When he got there, he bent down, picked up his shield and knife, and turned back to the group.

"See?" he asked.

"Oh, that's so easy!" shouted Snotlout.

"Okay then, Snotlout, you go next," said Astrid.

"What-_ever_," said Snotlout in an annoyed tone of voice.

"Okay, Tuffnut, take his sword and helmet," said Hiccup.

"Aha, what!?" shouted Snotlout. "NO! You can't take my helmet! A good warrior, never goes _anywhere _without his helmet."

"You can get it back as soon as you get to the center-on one foot," said Hiccup.

Snotlout reluctantly let Tuffnut take his helmet and sword, which he put in the middle of the arena.

"Okay, Ruff, Tuff, don't let Hookfang help him," said Hiccup.

"Gotcha," said Tuffnut. "This is gonna be fun."

Snotlout lifted his left foot off the ground, and began to hop, slowly, towards the center. He fell flat on his face twice, on his back once. Hiccup tried hard not to laugh at his cousin. The twins, however, were laughing until they started crying.

"Not as easy as you thought it would be, huh, Snotlout?" asked Hiccup.

"Be quiet, Hiccup," said Snotlout.

"I bet you this is embarrassing for him," said Astrid to Hiccup as Snotlout fell on his face again.

"Yeah, I really don't want to know," said Hiccup.

Eventually, Snotlout made it to the center, where he picked up his sword and helmet.

"Aha!" he shouted. "I bet I even beat Hiccup's time!"

"Actually, Snotlout," said Fishlegs, "Hiccup's time was thirteen seconds-it took you nearly five minutes."

Snotlout opened his mouth to say something, but Hiccup cut in.

"Okay, so, who's next?" asked Hiccup.

"Me!" shouted Tuffnut.

"No I want to go next!" shouted Ruffnut.

"How about, _I _go next," said Astrid. She glared at the twins as if daring them to disagree. Luckily for them, they didn't.

Astrid threw her axe in the center of the arena before proceeding to walk to the opposite side. Lifting one foot, she hopped on the other until she reached her weapon. She grabbed it and held it up like it was a Thawfest trophy, and shouted, "YES!" before sauntering back over to Hiccup again.

"Nicely done, Astrid," said Hiccup. "Okay, Fishlegs, you're up."

It took Fishlegs about two minutes to reach the center of the arena. Ruffnut and Tuffnut went first at the same time, but then went second one at a time because they kept purposely banging into each other.

"Good," said Hiccup. "Pretty soon we'll be able to do it flawlessly in even less time."

"And when that happens, we'll all be more reliable when it comes to our dragons," said Astrid.

"Exactly," said Hiccup.

"So when are we going to get on with some _real _training!?" asked Snotlout. "Seriously. This is lame."

"Okay, okay, fine," said Hiccup. "Mount up, gang. Next stop-"


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello! This is my second fanfiction, my first one being titled "How Not To Celebrate Your Birthday." I highly suggest reading that one before this one, because this one is the sequel to said story. You don't _have _to read it, I just suggest it. It would help you understand the story better that way. Anyways, enjoy chapter 2, sorry in advance for the somewhat cliffhanger at the end. **

**Normal POV **

"-Dragon Island!"

Hiccup and his friends flew over said place on their dragons, surveying their surroundings. It was completely dark, and the cloudy sky hid any possible moonlight or starlight.

"Okay, Hiccup, run us over the mission one more time," said Astrid.

"We'll all start out on different parts of the island," said Hiccup. "Ruff, Tuff, you take the West side. Snotlout, you take the North side. Astrid, you take the East side, I'll take the South side, and Fishlegs, you start in the middle. You're going to be our bad dragon. If he sees you, you're out. Got it?"

"Got it!" said Tuffnut. He paused before continuing, "No I don't. Sorry, do I start out West East, or North South?"

"Just-don't get caught by Fishlegs?" Hiccup offered, slapping his forehead. "And there is no such thing as West East, or North South."

"So it's all about stealth?" asked Astrid.

"Exactly," said Hiccup. "Last one found is bad dragon next round. Ready, gang?"

They nodded in agreement.

"Alright," said Hiccup. "Fishlegs, once you land, count to ten, and then come find us. Remember, this is all about stealth. And also, as soon as you land, find your dragon a good place to hide, and then go off yourself. If a dragon is found without a rider, it doesn't count. Let's go."

The dragons and riders zoomed off to their assigned location, ready to hide.

**Astrid's POV **

Stormfly landed on the East side of Dragon Island, cooing slightly as her feet grazed the ground, right behind a large bush. Astrid leaped off her dragon and pat her head twice before giving her the "Stay" command. The dragon sat down and then lay down behind the plant, almost completely hidden from view. Satisfied with this, Astrid turned and started to walk deeper into the forests of Dragon Island.

On her way there, she was attacked by a wild Deadly Nadder. Remembering what she learned in training, she was able to train it slightly; just enough so it wouldn't attack her. Then, the Nadder ran off in a different direction.

"That was too easy," said Astrid.

**Hiccup's POV**

Hiccup landed Toothless on the South side of the island. He dismounted, unstrapped his shield and held it in his left hand. He turned and looked at Toothless. The Night Fury already had a perfect cover in the night, but Hiccup didn't really want to leave him. He hated being without Toothless just as much as Toothless hated being without Hiccup. If something were to happen, they couldn't protect each other.

"Okay, bud," said Hiccup. "Let's find somewhere to hide."

Toothless roared in agreement, turning to some of the trees on the outskirts of Dragon Island. Upon moving forward, they heard a rustle in the bushes. Hiccup turned, but didn't see anything.

"That's weird," said Hiccup. "I was sure I heard something."

Turning back around, he looked at Toothless. Toothless was snarling at the bush. Hiccup turned back around, but not before something else happened. He heard something make a sound-like the sound a crossbow makes when it was fired. And then the world as he knew it went black.

**Normal POV **

Three men watched as Toothless and Hiccup landed on the South area of Dragon Island, using the bushes to keep their cover safe. The leader of the men looked at the boy and dragon, watching as Hiccup dismounted, and spoke a few words to the dragon before turning and walking forward.

"We're ready when you are, sir," said one of the men to their leader. "Who is our main target?"

"The boy, of course!" said their leader as loud as he could have said it without being heard by Hiccup or the Night Fury. "Obviously, you're going to have to knock the Night Fury out, too, along with the boy, but leave the Night Fury here. Leave it for the rest of Hiccup's friends to find. Hiccup's going to be the perfect bait for all the dragons and their riders," he concluded. "Now, strike at my signal."

They grabbed their slingshots and metal stones out of their satchels. The leader aimed his at Hiccup, while the other two aimed theirs at Toothless.

"Only on my signal," said the leader. "One-two-three!"

They fired all at once, meeting their targets. Hiccup was instantly knocked unconscious, while Toothless was still in a mix between consciousness and unconsciousness.

The leader and the other two men stepped out of their hiding place. The leader approached the dragon without fear. He took a piece of parchment and wrote out a quick note. Toothless snarled, but the world around him was fading. He was going to lose consciousness, he knew that much.

The leader, when he finished writing whatever it was he was riding, folded the piece of paper and stuck it in Toothless' saddle bag.

"I might offer you a trade, Night Fury," said the man to the dragon. "But first-you have to get one of your rider's friends to read the note. Until then-" the man raised a large club over Toothless' head, "-your rider, is mine."

The club came back down, and Toothless was unconscious.

"Ha," said the leader. "So much for the _unholy offspring of lightning and death itself_."

"So...we're leaving the Night Fury, sir?" asked one of the men. "What about his shield?"

"Why not?" said their leader. "Leave both. Take the boy back to the ship. We're shoving off, back to our own island. As soon as the boy's friends find the Night Fury, he'll make sure they read the note. And then, our plan will come into action." He smiled evilly and laughed. "They don't call me Dagur the Deranged for nothing!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Astrid's POV **

"Okay, a wild Monstrous Nightmare," said Astrid as said dragon slowly advanced on her. He breathed fire, but she quickly dodged. He breathed it again, but she dodged it again. After about five more tries, he gave up and sauntered away.

"Well, he knows what's good for him," said Astrid, turning away as the dragon moved in the opposite direction. She looked around and dove for cover when she heard a rustle in the bushes. Looking, she saw it was only Ruffnut and Tuffnut.

"What are you doing?" whispered Astrid.

"Shhh," said Tuffnut. "We're hiding."

"In plain sight?" asked Astrid.

"It's very complicated," said Ruffnut.

Astrid rolled her eyes, but then stopped suddenly when she saw the light of Fishleg's torch.

She ran in the other direction and jumped behind a rock. She peaked out from behind it, seeing Fishlegs find Ruffnut and Tuffnut.

"Out and out," said Fishlegs.

"Hey no fair!" said Tuffnut. "You weren't supposed to see us!"

"Yeah, this game stinks," said Ruffnut.

Fishlegs turned and walked away, Meatlung, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and their Zippleback following. As soon as they were a safe distance away, Astrid got up from her hiding spot and moved over to check on Stormfly again.

Seeing her dragon was in the same location she left her in, Astrid nodded and turned around. She began walking backwards slowly, keeping her eyes set on her surroundings. Then she bumped into someone else.

Whoever she bumped into screamed. Turning around, she saw it was Snotlout. She quickly slapped a hand over his mouth to keep him quiet, but he continued mumbling incoherently.

"Ahdhjkehadnmsbnei," he said.

"What?" whispered Astrid.

"I sahid met yoursui mand awmay om miy outh," he repeated.

"What!?" asked Astrid as loud as she dared.

Snotlout reached up, grabbed her hand, and pulled it away from him. "I said," he repeated, "get your hand away from my mouth!"

"Oh," said Astrid. "Fine."

She turned back when she saw the light of Fishlegs' torch. She and Snotlout ducked into hiding, but not before Fishlegs saw them.

"Out and out!" said Fishlegs.

Astrid stood up with him anyways and approached Fishlegs. Snotlout and her both called for their dragons, who came to them instantly.

"The last one is, again, Hiccup," said Fishlegs. "We can never tag him out."

Astrid nodded. "Well, he does have a Night Fury," she said. She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, "Hiccup! You win! Time for the next round!" She was smiling, until she didn't receive any reply. "Hiccup!?" she called out. "Toothless!?" Now she was beginning to panic. Why wasn't he answering?

"Hiccup!" shouted Snotlout.

"Hiccup! Toothless!" called Fishlegs. "Where are you?"

"Tuffnut!" shouted Tuffnut.

"You weirdo, you're Tuffnut," said Ruffnut.

"I am?" said Tuffnut. "Wow."

"HICCUP!" called Astrid. "Hic-_cup_!"

"Why isn't he responding?" asked Fishlegs. "At least Toothless would respond, right?"

"Toothless!" shouted Astrid. If something happened where Hiccup couldn't hear her, she knew Toothless could. But they still didn't get anything.

"Let's head South, where Hiccup and Toothless started," Astrid suggested.

"Right," said Snotlout. They all mounted their dragons and steered them towards the South end of dragon island.

Then Astrid saw something that made her heart skip a beat.

Toothless was laying on the sand, unconscious. Beside him was Hiccup's shield-but no sign of Hiccup.

"Toothless!" shouted Astrid as Stormfly landed. As soon as it was safe enough, she jumped off her dragon and ran over to the Night Fury.

"Toothless?" she asked.

The other dragons landed behind her an instant later. They dismounted and ran over to where Astrid was kneeling.

"He's unconscious," said Astrid, but she really didn't have to say it before they knew. "Tuff, get a water bucket from the saddlebag and fill it with water. Bring it back over her-"

"And dump it on Toothless, I know," said Tuffnut, running back over to their dragon. In a few moments, he returned with a small bucket filled with seawater. He held it over Toothless' head, and dumped it out over said dragon.

Instantly, Toothless was awake. Without skipping a beat, he leaped onto Astrid and snarled, not fully recognizing who she was.

"Toothless!" shouted Astrid. "It's me! Astrid!"

Instantly, Toothless calmed down and got off her. He looked at his surroundings, and then roared-loudly, into the air. So loud, that the others had to cover their ears. And even then it was still beating up against their eardrums.

When Toothless stopped, the youths lowered their hands.

"Whoa," said Tuffnut.

"I've never seen Toothless-_do that before_," said Astrid.

"I've never seen any dragon do that before," said Fishlegs. Toothless started running around them as if they weren't even there, sniffing random places on the ground, snarling every now and then.

"Toothless, where's Hiccup?" asked Astrid.

Toothless' ears perked up and his eyes widened. He turned his head, grunting at his saddlebag. Getting the hint, Astrid opened it and saw, amongst other things, a small piece of parchment, rolled into a small scroll.

She took it out, not bothering to close the saddle bag, unrolled it, and read it out loud to the group.

"'I have your heir and your leader. If you want to see him again, come to Berserk. I might be interested on a trade. The only question is, are you?'" she said, her voice wavering. "'Signed, Chief of the Berserkers, Dagur the Deranged. You have twelve hours before I change my mind.'"

"Dagur has Hiccup!" shouted Fishlegs.

Astrid nodded solemnly. Out of all the people in the world-Dagur? Seriously? Alvin the Treacherous might have been better, seeing as how Hiccup can easily outsmart him.

"I say we get over there, and blow those Berserkers right off the map!" shouted Snotlout, mounting Hookfang. Hookfang lit on fire and blasted some into the sky to emphasize the point.

"No," said Astrid. "There's only ten of us. Dagur has an entire armada."

"What do we do?" asked Tuffnut.

"Hiccup would know what to do," said Fishlegs. "He always does."

Astrid couldn't help but nod. She recalled all the times they had come to a seemingly impossible situation, and Hiccup had gotten them out. Now it was time for them to return the favor...

...and she knew they were failing.

_What would Hiccup do...what would Hiccup do...what would Hiccup do? _she asked herself over and over and over again.

"He would come up with a fiendishly clever plan, like he always does," said Fishlegs.

Oops. Astrid mentally smacked herself in the face. Had she spoken out loud?

"We're not clever like he is," said Fishlegs. "What can we do? What is there _to do_?"

"We have to go save him," said Astrid. "Dagur wrote clearly that he was only waiting twelve hours before-" she shook her head to get that thought of of her head. What happened if they didn't get there in twelve hours?

"We should go back to Berk, gather a fleet, and bring them back here!" shouted Snotlout.

"You know that would never work," said Astrid. "Stoick and many others are on another island, meeting with some other chiefs. We're on our own here. We can't go back to Berk and gather people, there's not enough time. We have to go alone. For Hiccup."

"You're right!" shouted Snotlout, which surprised everyone. "We have to go save him!"

"You _care _about him?" asked Astrid in an "I-told-you-so" type voice.

"No!" shouted Snotlout, offended. "I don't care about him! I'm his cousin. I have to help him."

Astrid rolled her eyes, remembering when Hiccup and Toothless defeated the Red Death, Snotlout was the one, along with Astrid, who didn't want to leave for long periods of time. Also when Hiccup was struck by lightning, he was also terrified.

"Come on, then!" shouted Astrid. She turned towards the terrified Night Fury and gingerly got on his back just in case Toothless still hadn't fully recovered consciousness and thought her to be an enemy. But Toothless let her get on without so much as a problem, and then got ready to soar.

"Let's go, Toothless," said Astrid. "We've got a friend to save!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Hiccup's POV**

Darkness. That's all he remembered. He was on Dragon Island with Toothless, he knew, and then he heard something-and then it all happened too fast. Something knocked him unconscious-whether intentionally or unintentionally, he didn't know. For all he knew, something (or someone) could have fallen on top of him. It happened before, he recalled as his vision came into focus...

...nope, it wasn't unintentionally.

He was in prison. But not just any type of prison; a Berserker prison. He stood up quickly, but fell back again when he realized how badly his head hurt. Why was he on Berserk?

A set of footsteps quickly came shuffling down the hall. Hiccup forced himself to his feet, although it was almost impossible with the never-ending throbbing in his head. But he refused to make himself look weak.

When he saw who it was coming down the hall, he was glad he was standing and not cowering like a...well..._coward. _

"Dagur," Hiccup growled, glaring at said person. "I should have expected you would do this."

"And why wouldn't you?" asked Dagur, completely unfazed. "You know me, brother-"

"I'm not your brother," Hiccup hissed through clenched teeth.

"Yeah yeah," said Dagur, flipping a knife around in one of his hands. "You know, _Hiccup_," he said the dragon trainer's name as if it were a deadly weapon, "I brought you here for a reason. I would show you, but I think I'd like to wait for your friends to get here first."

"My friends," said Hiccup. He remembered. They were on Dragon Island. Were they captured? What about Toothless...? "Where are they?"

"I don't know," said Dagur. "Think on the brightside, Hiccup. This time tomorrow you'll either be safe on Berk..." He threw the knife into the prison, just barely missing Hiccup's head, "...or at the bottom of your grave. It's really up to your little 'Dragon Training Academy'."

"What do you want, Dagur?" asked Hiccup.

"What I've always wanted," said Dagur. "You dead, your friends, dead, your Night Fury, mine. But that's the thing," Dagur continued. "Your Night Fury would rather die before he helped me, so I gave up on him a long time ago. I sort of-_changed _my mind on what kind of dragon I want to be riding."

Hiccup didn't shift his gaze. Unbeknownst to himself, he balled his fists at his side.

"The new symbol of the Berserkers," said Dagur. "A new dragon. Thing is, I don't know about any other dragon really then the Skrill. And this is where you come into my plan."

"Or, this is where I ruin your plan," said Hiccup.

"No, because this is one plan that WILL-NOT-FAIL," said Dagur.

"Ooh, I've heard that one before," said Hiccup, rolling his eyes.

"Your knowledge of the dragons if bigger than my armada," said Dagur. "You help me, and I'll let you go."

"I will never help you, Dagur," said Hiccup.

"Fine," said Dagur, fully expecting the answer. "I'll be back in an hour to see if you change _your _mind. And then, I'll show you what needs to be done. For now, though, sit tight!" he backed away from the prison cell. "You don't have much time left."

He turned and walked back up the hallway as if he had all the time in the world. As soon as he was gone, Hiccup sank to the ground again. He couldn't stand anymore. His head felt like someone had drove a dagger through it. He could barely think straight while talking to Dagur, and now he was losing it completely.

Eventually, he let the darkness take him, and was once again oblivious to the world.

**Astrid's POV **

Although it was extraordinarily hard for her to fly Toothless, since the left stirrup was made for Hiccup's prosthetic, not an actual foot, Astrid managed it reasonably well. She only lost control once, and even then it was only for about five seconds.

Stormfly flew beside her as they flew to Berserk. About an hour later, the island was in view. Dark, gloomy, creepy, eerie-this place had it all. Plus it was dark; pitch black, which made it even more creepy.

Astrid and the others landed silently on the outskirts of the island, using the night to hide them and their dragons. Astrid got off Toothless slowly and drew her axe. Hiccup's Gronckle Iron shield rested in her other. She figured if she found him, he would feel better with the shield...

...wait. Did she just say _if she found him? _

"We'll find him," Astrid whispered to herself. "We just _have _to." She looked at Toothless and the others. "I'm going in first," said Astrid. "All of you stay here. I'm going to find out where they're keeping Hiccup. After we know that, we could go in for a full attack, get him out, and then return to Berk."

Toothless growled.

"Yeah, that'll be fun, getting that dragon to stay behind," said Snotlout sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"Toothless," said Astrid, "you have to stay. If you come, it could put Hiccup in more danger. If they know we're here, they'll either move Hiccup to a more safe prison or-or worse."

_Or worse, _the two words were bitter on her tongue. What if "or worse" really happened? What if...

"Please, Toothless," said Astrid. "You have to trust me. Do you trust me?"

Toothless gave her a deadpan expression. If he said that he didn't trust her, it would be a lie, because truly he _did _trust her-but if he said that, it would give him reason to stay. This was all so messed up...

"It'll be okay, Toothless," said Astrid. "I'll be back to get you, and then we'll go save Hiccup."

She turned before running silently towards the center of the village, mindful of all the guards lingering around the plaza. Her feet barely touched the ground as she scurried, looking for the prison.

"Don't worry, Hiccup," she said out loud to herself. "We're gonna get you out."


	5. Chapter 5

**Hiccup's POV **

Hiccup woke with a start to hear the same shuffle of footsteps he knew were Dagur's. Quickly jumping to his feet, he resisted the urge to cry out in pain as his head still throbbed.

"Dat da da, I'm dead," he mumbled to himself. Hiccup turned around and looked to where Dagur had thrown the knife. It was lodged in the stone wall a few inches, but none the less, Hiccup gripped the handle, and yanked it out.

As soon as it was in his hands, he attached it to his belt, not in complete view, but at the same time, not completely hidden.

Dagur soon came into view. Hiccup glared at him. Dagur just smiled and laughed back.

"Oh you," he said, his laughs now chuckles. "Hilarious, Hiccup. Absolutely hilarious. Son of Stoick the Vast, defenseless on Berserk. Priceless!" He unhooked the keyring from his belt, chose one specific key, and then slid it into the lock. He turned it and pulled the door open. Hiccup remained unfazed, as though the door was still closed.

Dagur smiled again. "You will help me," said Dagur. "Or I'll force you to."

"I guess you're going to have to force me to, then," said Hiccup.

Dagur reached forward and grabbed both of Hiccup's arms. He pulled them around and tied them together with thick, twisted rope behind his back. Hiccup resisted the urge to make so much as a painful grunt as the ropes bit into his skin.

No. He wouldn't give Dagur the pleasure.

"Doesn't that hurt you?" asked Dagur, pulling Hiccup by his forearm out of the prison.

Hiccup ignored him. He learned the thing about Dagur was that the more you talked, the less angry he got. The less you talked, the more angry he got. It was perfect, too. Hiccup knew that Dagur didn't think well of what he did when he was angry-so getting him angry was an advantage and a risk.

But it was also a risk he was willing to take, for his friends, family, and all of Berk on top of that.

"When I ask you a question, I expect you to answer me," said Dagur, drawing his axe and holding it at Hiccup. Hiccup didn't even flinch. He just rolled his eyes, like he was bored.

Dagur grabbed his arm and pulled him along, up the hallway and to the Berserk arena attached to the prison. He pulled a lever on the wall, pulling the gate that worked as a door open. Dagur shoved Hiccup through, and then stepped back behind the door, pulled the lever again, and let it close behind him.

_Great, just great, _said Hiccup to himself as he watched Dagur move to watch from above. The arena was much like the one on Berk, only less-lively. Dragons were pinned up in cages against their will, but what really made Hiccup think was one particular prison.

It was built in an awkward way. The prison was huge-maybe two times the side of the Great Hall back on Berk. It shook greatly as roars emanated forth from it.

"Let the games begin, Hiccup," said Dagur.

Many other Berserkers came and followed Dagur's example, standing around the circular arena, watching from above. They were snickering and laughing the whole time as well.

"Behind the largest prison door, lives the most powerful of all dragons known," said Dagur. "If you can train it-which I know you can-I'll let you free."

"I will never train dragons for you, Dagur," said Hiccup.

"Oh I think you will," said Dagur. "First of all, I think we should let him get _warmed up_ before we release the finale." Dagur nodded to one of his men, standing next to a smaller cage, his hand on the lever to open it. "Release the Nightmare!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello! This is chapter 6 to the story. Thanks to all who read, review, fave and follow! Now, I am working on chapter 7, but I probably won't be able to post it until tomorrow. I'm hoping to get the story longer, but it also takes a little time. Surly anyone who's ever written a fanfiction knows that. :) So I will try to get it out tomorrow at the latest. THANKS! **

**Now, here's chapter 6: **

**Normal POV**

-"Release the Nightmare!" shouted Dagur.

Hiccup took a deep breath, ready for whatever Dagur had to throw at him. He would _not _train the dragon at any cost. Ever. Never. Ever. Ever. Even if the cost was-his life.

He was glad Dagur had only took him and not one of his other friends, because then, Dagur could have bribed Hiccup into training the dragons, or else one of his friends would die. But another part of him was hoping they would get there soon.

The guard holding the lever yanked down on it-hard. As soon as the cage slowly began to swing open, he turned and ran as fast as he could to get back to safety. By the time the guard was next to Dagur, watching Hiccup down at the arena, the door had swung open, revealing a growling, snarling Monstrous Nightmare.

_And they didn't even bother to untie me, _said Hiccup to himself. _What do they expect me to do? Use my face? _

The dragon lit itself on fire and ran rancid around the arena, clawing at the chain roof as it went. Meanwhile, Hiccup struggled to free his hands, but to no avail. They were _behind _his back, twisted slightly in a way they shouldn't have been, so he couldn't even see what he was doing, and couldn't move without nearly screaming in pain.

The Monstrous Nightmare soon realized that there was someone in the arena with her. She looked to Hiccup and turned her flame off before approaching him tentatively. Why wasn't the human attacking her? Why was he tied up? Why was he glaring at Dagur?

Hiccup took a few moments to survey the Nightmare. She was truly beautiful. Her scales were red with some hints of blue on her back. Her eyes were yellow and piercing, yet intelligent at the same time.

Looking around, he made himself familiar with the exits. The only one he saw that was a run-out get-out no-strings-attached was one on the far side of the arena, closed securely.

He looked and saw the lever that activated it. If he were to pull it, maybe he could at least get the dragon to escape. He wouldn't have time to run out himself before he was attacked by Dagur or one of his men; but at least he would get the dragon out.

He wanted to help the dragon, but in order to do that, he would have to train her, but if he did do that, Dagur would get his wish in Hiccup training dragons.

Or maybe not...

Hiccup started brainstorming. The Nightmare was approaching him, and he was stepping backwards every one time it stepped forward. The Nightmare still wondered why he wasn't attacking her.

Hiccup also wondered why she wasn't attacking him.

_I probably smell like dragon, being around them practically all day, 24/7, _he said to himself.

Hiccup suddenly remembered the knife he had snagged from the prison. Moving his hand slightly, he was able to grab the knife and cut his bonds. As soon as he was free, the Nightmare snarled at the sight of the knife, lighting herself on fire again.

Instantly, Hiccup threw the knife all the way to the opposite wall. It clattered against the stone surface before bouncing off it and clicking on the floor.

The dragon looked at Hiccup questioningly. He just threw away his weapon. Now he was standing in front of her, completely at the Nightmare's mercy.

"You want to get out, don't you, girl?" asked Hiccup, his voice not even rising above a whisper. He couldn't risk Dagur hearing what he was saying to the dragon "I know, I want to, too. But I can't help you until you trust me."

He gently held out his hand towards the dragon and looked away.

"Do you trust me?" he asked, not opening his eyes, or turning his head.

_THIS _certainly was something new for the Nightmare. Never before had anyone treated her like she actually existed. Like she actually had _feelings_, like she actually was _alive _and not some slave the Berserkers could just push around.

"I won't hurt you," said Hiccup. "I promise."

_Please let this work please let this work please let this work please let this work, _Hiccup said to himself in his mind. _If I can't get out, at least let me save this dra-_

He stopped in mid-thought as the dragon pressed its muzzle against Hiccup's hand. Hiccup turned back towards the dragon, smiling.

"Promise," said Hiccup. "That's what I'll call you."

He looked up to see Dagur slow-clapping.

"Well done, Hiccup," said Dagur. "And I thought you wouldn't cooperate."

_Oh I'm not, _said Hiccup to himself. He eyed the lever he needed to get to suddenly, and then turned back to Promise.

"As soon as the gate's open," he whispered to the dragon, "you need to run. Run, and fly away. Get away, as fast as you can. They can't hurt you again, Promise."

She looked at him. Dagur was slowly making his way down towards them. It was now or never.

"Trust me," said Hiccup. This was his chance. He suddenly bolted towards the lever, Promise following him earnestly.

Dagur suddenly shouted, "STOP! STOP THEM!"

Hiccup ran over and yanked on the lever. The door opened, but Promise hesitated, looking back at her new found friend with worried eyes.

"Promise, you have to get out of here, now!" shouted Hiccup. "RUN! FLY!" he yelled. "HURRY!"

Promise looked at him, licked him in saying "Thank you," and then ran out of the gate and few off.

An instant after her feet left the ground, Hiccup felt someone grab him harshly. Before he knew it, he was face to face with Dagur the Deranged.

"You little Berkian," said Dagur. "You're gonna pay for that."

He let go of Hiccup and kicked him. Hiccup stumbled backwards, falling backwards, and catching himself on his hands. Dagur took out his axe, and banged the flat of it on Hiccup's head.

He was vaguely aware of being dragged and thrown back into his prison. He heard the springs of the lock snap closed. He was a prisoner again to Dagur and his armada of Berserkers.

Just before the darkness of unconsciousness overwhelmed him, he said to no one in particular, "Wherever you are, guys, please hurry." And then he let the darkness take him.


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry for the shortness of this chapter. I've been really busy without much time to work on the chapters, but I wanted to get _something _out. Thank you all for bearing with me. Reviews make me smile. :) Thanks. Virtual Pancakes for everyone with toppings of choice!**

**Astrid's POV **

She walked through the village. It was dark, but the sun was slowly rising in the horizon. She only had a few more hours before broad daylight hit-and then it would be so much harder to find Hiccup without alerting any Berserkers of her presence.

Astrid ran through the village on her toes, just barely making contact with the ground. It had only been about five hours so far, and yet through her five hours of searching, she still hadn't seen any sign of Hiccup.

"This is useless!" she shouted accidentally, throwing her axe down on the ground. She quickly picked it up again before continuing to run around in a rampage, searching for her friend.

"Oh Hiccup where are you?" she asked no one in particular.

She ran and ran until she came up to a place that looked much like the training academy on Berk. She ran over quickly, but not before she was pounced by a Monstrous Nightmare.

She pinned Astrid down and snarled into her face. But then suddenly, her face softened, and she got off her.

Astrid stood up shakily and looked at the dragon. She was calm...well, calm-_er_ than any other wild dragon she had met. She looked at the dragon again, and a thought suddenly occurred to her.

What if this dragon wasn't _all _wild? Was it possible that Hiccup had partially trained it?

"Hello?" Astrid asked the Nightmare. The dragon cocked its head sideways, studying Astrid. "I don't know if you can understand me," said Astrid, "but something tells me you can. Do you know where Hiccup is?"  
>The dragon looked at Astrid as if deciding whether she would work better as a chew toy or a meal.<p>

"Hiccup," said Astrid. "A human, like me," she gestured to herself.

The dragon cooed and turned her head towards the arena. Astrid looked at it again, before addressing the dragon.

"Is he in there?" she asked.

The dragon nodded slightly. Astrid turned around. She was far from the beach, but maybe the Nightmare would let her get on her back, and help rescue Hiccup.

"Can-can you help me?" asked Astrid.

Astrid knew the dragon could understand her. The Monstrous Nightmare nodded eagerly.

"Okay then," said Astrid. "You're going to have to let me get on your back-"

Astrid moved over to the dragon's back before slowly jumping on. The dragon shuddered slightly as she did so, but let Astrid stay on.

"Okay, girl," said Astrid. "Let's see about these Berserkers."

The dragon moved back towards the arena. Seeing it deserted, Astrid hopped off the Nightmare and looked in. Wow. It was _completely _deserted.

Astrid continued to look down. She got down on her stomach near the edge and looked in, and continued to look. She knew Dagur would try to get Hiccup to train his dragons. She just _knew _it. She knew that this was where they would do it, seeing all the cages of trapped dragons.

The Nightmare copied Astrid's movements, laying directly beside the eighteen year old girl.

"He's down there somewhere," said Astrid. "And if he's not down there now, he will be soon. We just have to wait." She ran her fingers over Hiccup's shield. "I wish I knew how to work this thing," she uttered dolefully. "It would come in handy."

She continued to watch. The biggest of the cages was rattling and shaking, making Astrid feel uneasy. She could just hope that whatever dragon was behind it wouldn't break out somehow.

She continued looking, earnestly searching for anything that would lead her to Hiccup. She didn't know Berserk; she only knew where it was. She hadn't really ever been there before, either.

"Do you know where they're keeping him?" Astrid asked the Nightmare, not expecting the dragon to know. Just like she figured, the dragon shook her head and grunted, really wishing she did.

"We'll find him," said Astrid to herself and the dragon. "We'll find him. We just have to."


	8. Chapter 8

**Hiccup's POV **

When he finally came to, his surroundings were just as he had expected: dark, gloomy, dusty, and again, dark. His head throbbed, but none the less, he was able to stand up and steady himself against the wall.

Hiccup looked around. He was in prison..._again. _By Dagur. This was awful. He felt useless, unable to do anything other than sit in his cell, waiting for Dagur to return and try to get him to train a dragon again, and then get knocked out again when he refused, again, and again, and again, and again, until finally Dagur killed him.

He cringed at the thought. With him dead, Dagur would move on to Berk and claim it for his own. Danger followed Dagur, and with Dagur followed death.

_I have to get out of here, _Hiccup thought to himself. _If I don't...well...let's not think about the 'if I don't'. _

He pulled out the knife on his belt and moved over to the prison door. He grabbed hold of the lock and tried to pick his way out, using the blade of the weapon to do so, but to no avail.

Groaning loudly, he threw the knife at the wall again, thinking of another way he could get out. The knife dug into the wall slightly, leaving it lodged in an inch or two. Hiccup paced restlessly, noticing-but not acknowledging-the throbbing pain clawing endlessly at his head.

_Do they have ANY other method of knocking people out besides metal? _he thought to himself. _In Berk we just use flammable Zippleback gas, and it works. But no, the Berserkers can't make it painless. They have to be berserk about it. _

He continued to pace, wondering where his friends were, or if they were coming at all. Why would they? He found himself wondering.

He had to get out. He just _had _to. His heart fell when he heard shuffling, and saw the small light of a torch come closer to his cell.

Dagur stepped into view, torch in hand, keyring in other.

"Finally decided to get up," said Dagur.

"No thanks to you," Hiccup sneered, glaring at his enemy.

Dagur smiled, like Hiccup amused him. He unlocked the door to Hiccup's cell, put the keyring back around his belt, and then drew his axe in his now free hand.

"Come on, Hiccup," said Dagur. "You've got a dragon to train. And-if you don't," he looked at his axe. "-well, then I've got a dragon trainer to kill."

"You don't scare me, Dagur," said Hiccup. "You're just a deranged maniac."

"Dagur the Deranged Maniac," said Dagur. "Doesn't have the same ring as just Dagur the Deranged, but none the less, it doesn't matter." He looked to Hiccup, kicking the prison door open the rest of the way. "You coming, or do I have to make you again?"

"You tell me, Dagur," said Hiccup.

"Oh, _this _again?" Dagur groaned like a child who didn't get that certain thing they wanted. "What is this? The third time we've been over it?"

Dagur growled and shoved Hiccup out of the prison roughly. Hiccup winced slightly, not letting Dagur see it even the slightest.

"Let's go, Hiccup," said Dagur, saying _Hiccup _as though it were the worst word in the world. "You've got a dragon to train."

**Toothless' POV **

They tried to keep Toothless at bay. They really tried without having to go to desperate measures. A.K.A, they had Meatlung sit on him.

Even then he roared and fired random plasma blasts. Snotlout, Fishlegs and the twins were trying to hold his mouth shut so he would stop making noise (they didn't want the Berserkers to know they were there...that would be _bad_), but Toothless wanted to get to Hiccup. No, check that. He _needed _to get to Hiccup. _His _Hiccup. _His _rider. _His _friend. _His _buddy.

"We-can't-hold-this-Night Fury-forever!" Snotlout said between throwing his body weight against Toothless' muzzle, trying to shut the dragon up. "He-just-won't-be-quiet!"

_And you won't let me go! _Toothless grunted in vain, knowing the humans didn't know what he was saying. He wanted them to at least _get the hint_ if they hadn't already. I mean, really, it was getting ridiculous.

Trying to keep Toothless from rescuing Hiccup was harder than trying to get Hiccup's metal leg detached from Meatlung when she swallowed that magnet **(see "The Iron Gronckle" episode if you haven't already. Hilarious. I was laughing my head off)**.

"He has a point-whoa!" shouted Tuffnut, shifting as Toothless tried to fling him off.

_For once I agree with you, _Toothless thought.

"We can't control this dragon!" shouted Ruffnut.

"If we keep him here, he'll just give away our position to the Berserkers," said Snotlout, sounding pathetic and desperate. "And we can't really have that, now can we?"

Fishlegs shook his head. "No," he stated.

_THANK YOU! _thought Toothless.

"But we can't let him go, either," Fishlegs continued.

_NO THANK YOU! _Toothless roared, stopping midway when Ruffnut pushed his mouth closed with the help of her brother.

"We have to!" shouted Snotlout. "Besides, he's a _Night Fury! _What could possibly go wrong!? Having him here roaring his head off is more bound to get us caught then having him go help Astrid find Hiccup. Besides, it's been a few hours since she's left. It's possible she got captured herself, you know."

"Astrid Hofferson, captured?" said Fishlegs.

"Hey, Hiccup Haddock managed to get himself captured a fair few times," said Snotlout. "Like the time we were on Outcast Island, and he had the satchel with the Berk Crest-"

"That was _your _fault though, Snotlout," said Fishlegs.

"Whatever, I'm just saying it happens!" shouted Snotlout, getting offended. Toothless could hear the anger in his voice. Part of him also wanted to be angry. It was his job to look after Hiccup...and here they were, holding him back.

Meatlung kept him pinned down, but he could easily fix that...with a little idea.

He roared, sheathing his teeth mid-roar, ready for when they tried to get his mouth shut. When they did, he was looking for it. He snapped at Fishlegs, just barely grazing his arm. Although his teeth were retracted, that still didn't mean it didn't _hurt. _Fishlegs staggered back. Meatlung, in panic, jumped off Toothless and rushed towards her rider. Yes, this was going _exactly _how Toothless planned.

As soon as the dragon was off his back, Toothless bolted out towards the village. He could vaguely register the fact that all the other youths were yelling at each other, Ruffnut blaming Tuffnut, Tuffnut blaming Ruffnut, Snotlout blaming Fishlegs, Fishlegs taking blame, but he didn't care at this point.

_Hang on, Hiccup, _he thought. _I'm coming to get you. _


	9. Chapter 9

**Just a few shout-outs: **

**Forever Me: Yes. I just watched "The Iron Gronckle" like, two days before writing this fic, and it had me laughing so hard I could barely breath. It was **_**so **_**awkward...I like how they made Fishlegs and Hiccup buddies. I don't know if I feel more sorry for Fishlegs or Hiccup...XD**

**Jesusfreak: Yes, "How Not To Celebrate Your Birthday" was my first ever fanfiction. "How Not To Lead Your Armada" is my second one. I expect this one will have maybe 12-14 chapters, but I really don't know. I guess I'll just keep going until I reach a good stopping point. **

**Other: "How Not To Lead Your Armada" WILL have a sequel, I just don't know what in the world I'm going to call it. It will be a Post-How to Train Your Dragon 2, so I'll put up a spoiler warning for that. Any ideas on what I should call it? **

**Also: After I finish the sequel to "How Not To Lead Your Armada", I am going to probably start a one-shot series Post-Defenders of Berk. So if you have any story requests, feel free to PM me, or just tell me in a review. Either way I don't care, really. **

**YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING! FREE VIRTUAL COOKIES OF YOUR CHOICE WITH MILK (optional, since some people don't like milk). If you don't like cookies, either, have some ice cream! **

**Hiccup's POV**

Oh man. THIS was a disaster. And he knew what disasters were; he had fallen into the flames after battling the Red Death. He had taken a lightning bolt to the head. He had battled Dagur with just a shield and his dragon when Dagur had his weapons and plus not to mention an entire armada. He had been kidnapped by Alvin the Treacherous a fair few times. But THIS? THIS was a disaster.

Dragons. He was good at this stuff. He-he _loved _this stuff. But at the moment, Dagur was giving him a choice: train dragons, or die. If he trained the dragons, Dagur would use them to attack Berk. Their chances of beating Dagur if he was without dragons were about ten to a hundred, victory on Berk's side.

But if Dagur had _dragons_, and men who rode upon their backs...it'd be about fifty to fifty. And Hiccup wasn't _about _ready to give Dagur that extra forty percent chance of beating them. He had his mind made up long before he stepped out of that prison cell just a few minutes ago: He was NOT going to train Dagur's dragons for the life of him.

It went on as it did before: Dagur shoved Hiccup into the arena, closed the door behind him, and then returned to the top to watch the fun. More Berserker soldiers crowded around, excited to watch Hiccup either train, or die.

It was sickening to Hiccup. Absolutely sickening. Berserkers _enjoyed _watching people suffer; they enjoyed watching them fight for their very lives. They _enjoyed _watching people-_die. _The worst part was, Hiccup couldn't _not _give them any of those things.

"Are you ready to do or die, Hiccup?" Dagur sneered.

"Always ready, Dagur," Hiccup jarred back, glaring at his enemy. Dagur merely waved it off as if Hiccup were an annoying little pet he was forced to watch against his will.

Only difference was, this was TOTALLY Dagur's will.

"Fair enough," said Dagur. "Release the dragon!"

About twenty of Dagur's men raced forward, grabbing chains that were holding the beam keeping the doors to the largest cell barred closed, and yanking them, walking backwards as the bar was raised.

As soon as the bar was out of the way, the doors burst open...

...and Hiccup's heart nearly stopped.

Before him stood the Blue Death, a dragon he and his friends had battled with before. Five months before, to be exact **(for information on this dragon, read my fanfic "How Not To Celebrate Your Birthday". You don't have to, just a suggestion). **And it hadn't gone so very well...

...and now Dagur was telling him to _train _it? Hiccup knew he could, but he also knew he _couldn't. _He could train it, probably pretty easily, but he couldn't let Dagur get a hold of this thing trained for obvious reasons.

He was torn in two parts. He had to free this dragon like he freed Promise...only problem was, now the Berserkers would be _expecting _him to do that, so they probably set up some men who would run out and grab him before he could open the door to freedom.

Hiccup's mind began racing as the Blue Death thrashed about miserably, blasting fire, causing random Berserkers to dodge from where they were standing in the 'audience'. Dagur remained unfazed, his eyes set on Hiccup.

"Are you going to train or not, Hiccup?" asked Dagur. "This is your last chance."

_I bet it is, _thought Hiccup, _so why not do the right thing? _

He remembered telling Astrid, five months before, _Let's just hope it's the _right _move. _Now here it was; his chance to make the move.

He stepped forward towards the Blue Death, who had finally calmed down enough to realize he was with someone-but not just _anyone. _He recognized Hiccup, and Hiccup knew it. The dragon advanced on him a mix between fast and slow; like he wanted to kill Hiccup, but he was also hesitant.

"This is it, Dagur," said Hiccup to said person. "You're finally getting what you want."

He wasn't going to train the dragon. And if he didn't, the dragon would kill him. He stood up straight and still, closing his eyes, bracing himself, ready for when the Blue Death finally decided to go in for the kill.

But the kill never came. Hiccup opened his eyes again, but not before he heard something-_familiar. _He turned to where it came from, but before he did, he noticed something wizz into the arena and knock out a Berserker.

Now Hiccup really turned around. He couldn't believe it.

"You can't get rid of me that easily, Dragon Boy!" shouted Astrid.

**Astrid's POV (five minutes before) **

Astrid and the Nightmare lay on their fronts, looking into the arena. She saw Dagur walk in with another man. Looking closer, she could see they were talking to each other, but she couldn't hear what they were saying. She only caught the last part:

"-gather the men," she heard Dagur instruct the soldier. "I'll go get the prisoner."

"Hiccup," she couldn't help but whisper out loud, making sure it was quiet enough for Dagur and the other man not to hear.

Then, she saw Dagur walk down a separate tunnel.

She was ever so tempted to follow him; knock him out, rescue Hiccup right then and now, but chances were, by the time she took care of Dagur and got Hiccup out, the rest of the men that one soldier went to get would be back. She couldn't get herself and Hiccup out. Plus, not only that, but she also had to go back to the beach and get the others to mount their dragons. And then there was this half-trained Monstrous Nightmare who seemed to care about Hiccup-she was torn in about a hundred parts.

It wasn't long before she heard feet falling. She turned around to see men approaching.

"Come on, we have to hide!" she called to the Nightmare, her voice a harsh whisper. The dragon got the hint. Good dragon. Astrid ran to the side with the Nightmare and hid behind a rock, the dragon in tow. It was just large enough to hide Astrid and her from view.

Astrid set her axe up against the rock they were hiding behind and held the shield in one hand, running her fingers over the front of it.

"Now...where did he hide the slingshot?" she asked herself. The Nightmare cooed and tilted her head to one side, but Astrid didn't offer an explanation. She continued staring at the shield, until she heard a voice.

"Are you ready to do or die, Hiccup?" said Dagur.

"Always ready, Dagur," said Hiccup.

Astrid instantly got out from where she was hiding, telling the Nightmare to stay put until she gave the signal. She moved as close as she dared to the arena. Then, craning her neck so she could see, she saw Hiccup in the arena, facing the huge cage.

"Fair enough," said Dagur. "Release the dragon!"

Astrid watched as the men pulled on the chains, lifting the bar keeping the dragon contained. When the bar was out of the way, the doors busted open.

Astrid had to keep herself from crying out in shock. Dagur had the Blue Death.

"Why that bastard-" Astrid growled through clenched teeth.

"Are you going to train or not, Hiccup?" asked Dagur. "This is your last chance."

_Oh no. Astrid knew Hiccup would NEVER train a dragon, meaning that he would-_

She watched as Hiccup ignored him, completely focused on the dragon. Then, her heart skipped a beat when she saw Hiccup stop walking. The dragon continued to advance, wondering whether or not to pounce.

"This is it, Dagur," said Hiccup. "You're finally getting what you want."

_No no no no no no No NO NO! _thought Astrid frantically. She almost yelled, "JUST TRAIN THE STUPID DRAGON!" but she knew he wouldn't listen. She had to act-she had to do _something. _

She reached for her axe-only to remember that she had left it behind the rock with the dragon-! She inwardly punched herself and yelled at herself for leaving it behind. She couldn't go back for it-by then it could be too late-but she did have Hiccup's shield, although she didn't have the faintest idea on how to use it.

Astrid advanced all at once, pulling a random trigger, hoping it was the slingshot. It was-thank goodness-so she grabbed the hardest and largest stone she could while running towards the arena. She fastened the rock in the slingshot, pulled back, and fired at a random Berserker. He fell over, either unconscious or just barely conscious.

Hiccup turned and looked up at her. She had never seen him smile so big in her entire life.

"You can't get rid of me that easily, Dragon Boy!" she shouted.

**Astrid and Hiccup's POV **

Astrid jumped into the arena as guards began to advance on her. She ran up and stood next to Hiccup. As a Berserker jumped in after her, she turned around and banged him on the head with the shield.

Hiccup grabbed the crossbow the man had and threw it at a random Berserker. He never had much of a throwing arm, but he did have amazing aim. He did manage to shoot down a Night Fury, after all. It slammed into the soldier, knocking him unconscious. Hiccup felt guilty for it afterwards, but he knew it couldn't have been helped.

Astrid was doing well, knocking people out with Hiccup's Gronckle Iron shield. Hiccup looked down at his feet and saw a fallen weapon: an axe. He picked it up, and called out to Astrid.

"Here, trade ya!" he shouted, tossing her the axe. She caught it while throwing the shield to Hiccup. Hiccup caught it and turned around just in time to defend himself from an oncoming Berserker.

"KILL THEM!" shouted Dagur. "SOMEBODY KILL THEM!"

His men were trying...

...and failing.

"They're eighteen-year-old BERKIANS!" shouted Dagur. "Why can't SOMEBODY kill the-never mind!" He yelled suddenly. "I'LL do it!"

He grabbed his crossbow and jumped down into the arena, coming towards Hiccup.

"Oh, yeah, yeah-th-that's productive," said Hiccup sarcastically. "Astrid!"

She turned while fending off a Berserker.

"I'm going to take Dagur down," said Hiccup. "You just-continue what you're doing!"

_I was gonna do that anyway, _she thought. She knew Hiccup could take care of Dagur-but part of her was still hesitant.

Hiccup stood still, waiting for Dagur to get to him. Dagur aimed his crossbow at Hiccup.

"I've waited a long time for this, brother," said Dagur.

"Just so you know," said Hiccup, "I'm _not _your brother."

Dagur aimed his crossbow and fired. Hiccup put up his shield just in time for the arrow to hit it instead of him. It bounced harmlessly off the Gronckle Iron, but it didn't stop Dagur from shooting.

He continued to shoot and advance-not the best combo, Hiccup thought. He stole a glance at Astrid. She was doing absolutely fine. Shouldn't be a problem for him to take Dagur.

Hiccup picked one of Dagur's arrows off the ground, pulled a trigger on his shield, and allowed the crossbow action to take hold of the defense weapon. He set the arrow in it, pulled back, and fired. The arrow knocked Dagur's crossbow out of his hands, just as he had intended it to.

Dagur pulled out his axe and continued to advance.

Just then, Hiccup heard the screech of a NIght Fury. He looked up, just in time to see Toothless run and jump, blasting a plasma blast at the chains.

"Toothless!" shouted Hiccup.

"Toothless!" shouted Astrid, a little angrier sounding then she should have been. She was SURE she told the dragon to stay put...she had expected that he wouldn't listen, though.

The arena filled with smoke as Toothless leaped in. The chains that made up the roof of the arena snapped. Hiccup knew this by the sound the chains made when Toothless blasted at them.

This meant that the Blue Death now had an escape route...

...and so did they.

As the smoke cleared, Astrid saw the Blue Death roaring at Toothless. Toothless was roaring back, but not advancing. Hiccup ran over to his dragon and leaped onto his back, calling to mind that if Toothless tried to pull a stunt like he did with that Whispering Death a while back **(see the episode titled "What Flies Beneath" if you haven't already, for information on said subject)**, he would need to fly, and he couldn't fly without Hiccup there to control the tail fin.

Dagur followed Hiccup over. The Blue Death roared at both of them, especially when Toothless fired a plasma blast at it. The Blue Death roared louder, spread its wings, and then shot into the sky.

Toothless jumped, flailing his wings restlessly, desperate to do the same thing. Hiccup turned around and looked at Astrid. He was reluctant to leave her-but if he didn't get rid of the Blue Death, it would either be lost forever, or come too close to Berk, both of which they couldn't risk.

Astrid looked over at Hiccup, reading his face. She nodded, knowing what he was thinking. Hiccup nodded to Toothless, and the dragon blasted into the sky, trailing the Blue Death.

**Astrid's POV **

Astrid watched Hiccup and Toothless blare into the sky. She knew he could take care of that dragon by himself, as long as he had Toothless with him, but another part of her wanted to grab Stormfly, race after him, snatch him away from battle, and fly back to Berk.

But she couldn't do that. Not yet, anyways, and not with Stormfly.

The Nightmare waited anxiously for the signal, Astrid knew. At length, when the Berserk soldiers became too much for her, she whistled to the dragon. Promise, although Astrid didn't know that was her name, came into view, ran and jumped into the arena, and breathed fire at Berserkers.

"Good girl!" shouted Astrid. "Come on, we have to go help Hiccup!"

She leaped onto the dragon's back without so much as a second thought, and equally without a second thought, Promise shot into the clouds. Astrid could vaguely make out the figure of the Blue Death, flying away from her. She urged the Nightmare on faster.

Then, she saw a plasma blast being fired at the dragon. It exploded off his back, but the Blue Death looked mad either way. Toothless fired again from the opposite side. Eventually, the Blue Death decided to chase down this pest.

Astrid looked and saw Toothless, flying circles around the Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus, blasting plasma blasts every so often. She knew what was coming next. He was going to lead the dragon upwards, into the clouds, and then make him plummet back down, into the ocean after blasting a single shot of plasma into his mouth.

And so it happened. After making sure the Blue Death was angry, Hiccup steered Toothless up into the clouds, out of Astrid's sight. She knew she could follow them on Promise, but that could possibly put Hiccup in more danger.

She called Promise to a stop, allowing the dragon to fly in place, roaring and grunting, wondering why they weren't going up.

"We can't, girl," said Astrid. "Hiccup can do it himself. I KNOW he can. Or...at least I _hope _he can."

**Yay! Long chapter! The longest in this fanfic, so far! :) Hello to those who like it, hello to those who don't. Sorry about the somewhat cliffhanger. I have to keep you in suspense, or else you'll get bored with it. Haha. Thanks to all, and I would like to thank Jesusfreak and Forever Me for being the first to review this particular story. I would also like to thank all who reviewed on my previous story. I forgot to shout-out to you then, but thanks! I will try to get a new chapter up soon, maybe later on today or tomorrow. Virtual chocolate chip waffles, anyone? **


	10. Chapter 10

**Yay! A new chapter! I expect this fanfiction is going to have three more chapters (13 chapters in total), and then I'll start out on my next one! I am thinking about titling it "How Not To Ride Your Dragon" or "How Not To Kill Your Chief" (on Hiccup or Dagur's part, I won't say. Hehehe). What do you think? Which one do you like better, if you like any of them? If you hate both of them, it's okay, I'll think of a new one. Hahaha! Here's chapter 10, enjoy it, my peoples! Free virtual Yaknog! I wonder what it tastes like. (*takes a sip of it*) Oookay (*struggles to swallow Yaknog* *sticks tongue out, disgusted*). Never mind the Yaknog. It tastes-awful (no offense, Astrid, but someone had to tell you sooner or later, and Hiccup wouldn't even though he hated the Yaknog...OOPS did I say that out loud?) Oh, great, now she's getting her axe...read the chapter, see you later! *runs after Astrid***

**Hiccup's POV **

It was the Battle of the Red Death all over again, only this time it was over the ocean, and it was called the Blue Death.

Toothless flew into the clouds, the Blue Death in tow, roaring frantically.

_Well this is just splendid, _said Hiccup to himself. _Hopefully I don't lose another one. _He eyed his prosthetic worriedly before averting his gaze back to the sky above him and in front of him. Toothless flew on, trying to keep away from the Blue Death, yet at the same time, close enough so that the Blue Death didn't give up, realizing they'd be too hard to catch.

"Come on!" shouted Hiccup to the Death. Although he was trying not to antagonize him, he had to keep giving the dragon reason to follow. Sadly, it was also working. "Is that all you've got!?"

The Blue Death roared and followed him into the clouds.

"Okay, Toothless, do your thing," whispered Hiccup to said dragon. The dragon obeyed with flying colors, gliding slowly, and then all the sudden bursting into the clouds and vanishing from the Blue Death's sight.

They hid in the clouds, Toothless moving constantly, since hovering was slightly dangerous at this point. The Blue Death did exactly what the Red Death did all those years before: roar in anger, and then breath fire randomly, spinning around in circles.

When its anger finally subsided enough for it to be safe (well, safe-_er_) around it, Toothless emerged from where he was hiding in the clouds, coming in behind the Death. He shot a plasma blast, hitting it full on its back.

The Blue Death roared while turning around; unfortunately for itself, Toothless came around the other side, firing at its back again. The dragon roared, terribly and ferociously. Toothless flew right in front of the dragon, and then turned, plummeting towards the ocean below.

Just as they had hoped, the Blue Death followed them. Hiccup had the plan thought out in his head: turn Toothless around at the last second, get him to shoot a full plasma blast into the creature's mouth, and then avoid the water he knew would come splashing up at them as soon as the dragon hit the ocean.

The Death narrowed its eyes as the ocean came into view. It got closer and closer to them-

-two hundred feet-one hundred and ninety feet-one hundred and eighty feet-one hundred and seventy feet-

"Ready, Toothless?" Hiccup whispered. Toothless grunted, and Hiccup knew he was as ready as he was ever going to be.

-one hundred and thirty feet-one hundred and twenty feet-one hundred and ten feet-

The Blue Death opened its mouth, ready to burst fire.

"Okay, Toothless," Hiccup held his breath before shouting, "NOW!"

Toothless swung around, blasting the strongest bout of plasma he could muster into the beast's Blue Death roared one more time before closing its mouth, fire streaming from the edges of it.

Toothless pulled back, getting out of the way. Toothless swung around, careful to avoid any part of the crashing dragon. As soon as they were out of range, Hiccup looked back down and watched the dragon advance helplessly on the ocean...

-eighty feet-seventy feet-sixty feet-fifty feet-forty feet-thirty feet-twenty feet-ten feet-SPLASH!

Okay, imagine a hurricane. Okay, now, imagine a typhoon. Alright? Now, picture a tornado over the water. Now, picture a water spout **(like the one seen in "Defiant One" that Toothless gets caught in)**_**. **_Good. Now, imagine them all in the same place, at the same time. This is how big the splash and waves were when the Blue Death came in contact with the water.

Hiccup looked down and watched as the Blue Death sank, breathless and heartless, deep into the ocean, never to be seen again.

Only problem now was Dagur...

Hiccup turned around, urging Toothless to head back towards Berserk to make sure Astrid was alright. On his way over, he saw another dragon racing towards him. He recognized the dragon, and its rider.

"Astrid!" shouted Hiccup. "You're alright!"

The whole time he had been fighting the Blue Death, he had been worrying about Astrid. And now, seeming as though she were alright, it was all perfect again.

"Am I _ever_," said Astrid. "You really SCARED me, HICCUP!" she shouted, emphasizing "scared" and "Hiccup" with her voice rising to almost a scream.

"Sorry," said Hiccup. "I see you've met Promise?"

"Promise?" Astrid asked. Hiccup gestured with his head towards the dragon.

"Oooh," said Astrid. "Yep. Promise. You trained her, didn't you?"

"Ahh, a bit," said Hiccup. "So...where are the others?"

"Oh man..." Hiccup watched as Astrid smacked her forehead. "I forgot all about them!"

"Where are they?" asked Hiccup.

"Still on Berserk," said Astrid.

"THEY'RE WHAT!?"

"Still-on-Ber-serk!" Astrid huffed flatly.

"Well, come on then, let's go get them!" shouted Hiccup. Toothless and Promise turned, reluctant to go back to the dreaded island, but also happy to help their friends back on there.

"And, Astrid?" said Hiccup.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks. For saving me."

Astrid turned Promise towards Toothless just close enough to allow her to punch Hiccup. "I wouldn't miss it for the world," said Astrid.

"Good to know," said Hiccup, "seeing as though I'm a talking fish bone, prone to being abducted."

Astrid smiled-or, would have, if something hadn't shot out of the sky at that moment. It was aimed at Toothless' back tail fins and-oh no.

Toothless roared, but didn't have time to avoid his tail fins being wrapped around by what Hiccup now noticed was a bola. Toothless began to plummet towards Berserk.

"HICCUP!" yelled Astrid. "Come on, Promise!"

Said dragon turned her gaze towards the island and followed Toothless down. Toothless was spinning out of control, Hiccup trying to gain control enough so they didn't crashland-

Too late.

They crash landed on Berserk. Hiccup was thrown from the saddle, landing a few feet away from Toothless. As soon as Toothless hit the ground, another bola was fired at him, wrapping his wings and muzzle.

"Toothless!" shouted Hiccup.

Promise touched down a few feet away as Toothless was being surrounded by soldiers. Hiccup stood up from where he landed at a bizarre angle, trying to get to his dragon.

He watched as Astrid dismounted Promise, but he also watched as something-or _someone-_came up behind her.

"Astrid!" shouted Hiccup. "Behind you!"

Too late.

Dagur grabbed Astrid's arms and quickly pulled her away from Promise so the dragon couldn't help. Promise squawked angrily, but stopped as more soldiers began to advance on her.

Dagur held his crossbow in one hand, and Astrid's hands together behind her back with the other.

"Astrid!" shouted Hiccup.

"Hiccup!" she shouted back.

"Step away from the Night Fury," Dagur commanded his men. They obeyed without so much as a second thought. Toothless lay on his stomach, every part of him tied down with a bola.

Dagur aimed the crossbow at Toothless.

"No!" shouted Hiccup.

Dagur grinned and aimed the crossbow instead at Astrid.

"NO!" shouted Hiccup.

"Oh brother," said Dagur. "I do believe this isn't a very good position for your friends now, is it?"

"If you harm either one of them-" Hiccup threatened, his voice a harsh growl as he glared at Dagur.

"That's for you to decide," said Dagur. "One or the other, Hiccup!"

"Hiccup!" shouted Astrid. "Just take Toothless!"

Toothless looked at Hiccup, his eyes saying the same thing, only for him to take Astrid instead.

"Chose quickly, boy, before I chose for you," Dagur threatened.

Hiccup looked frantically to Toothless and Astrid. His best friend, or his other best friend? Astrid, or Toothless? Now he was _really _torn in two parts. Looking to the side, he saw that Promise was also tied down with bolas.

"You're wasting my time, Hiccup," Dagur started, yanking on Astrid's hands, causing her whole body to jerk.

Hiccup looked to Astrid, and then to Toothless. And then, glaring back at Dagur, his fists balled at his side.

"Shoot me," said Hiccup.

"HICCUP!" shouted Astrid.

"Shoot me, let her and Toothless go," said Hiccup.

"Fair enough," said Dagur.

"HICCUP!" yelled Astrid. "TAKE IT BACK! PLEASE TAKE IT BACK! PLEASE!" Tears were streaming down her face, but Hiccup didn't take it back. He wouldn't take it back. This was for Berk. For Astrid. For Toothless. For his friends. For everyone he knew.

"I'm sorry, Astrid," said Hiccup. "Shoot, Dagur."

"HICCUP NO!" screamed Astrid, her voice sappy sounding since she had been crying.

Dagur turned the crossbow away from her, towards Hiccup. Hiccup closed his eyes, ready for the arrow to kill him.

Dagur kept hold on Astrid as she thrashed and screamed and cried, trying to get Hiccup to change his mind.

But he was a Viking...

...and they had stubbornness issues.

Hiccup opened his eyes just in time to watch Dagur pull the trigger to the crossbow. The arrow shot through the air...

...and met its mark, right on Hiccup's chest.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello! Just a couple of shout-outs: **

**snoopykid: Thanks! I think...I don't know. I have a lot of people tell me that I do too many cliffhangers, but I really enjoy them. Keeps the readers in suspense, you know? If there's no suspense, why even read the story? Why follow it? Why care what happens next? Thanks! Your encouragement goes a LONG way for me! Really, it does! **

**Other: Thank you all who read, review, favorite, and follow! This chapter doesn't **_**really **_**end in a cliffhanger, since it's either the second to last chapter, or the third to last chapter. I don't know...but this fanfic will not be more than fourteen chapters, and not less than twelve. So, here ya go, chapter 11. **

**Astrid's POV/Normal POV**

She screamed. The sound of the crossbow's trigger being pulled went in slow motion for the young Hofferson girl. Her vision went in slow motion as well as it flew through the air. It was as if the world had stopped right in front of her. She knew Dagur was deranged (it said so in his name), but she never thought he would actually have the guts to actually _shoot_...oh man.

"HICCUP!" she cried out in terror as the arrow hit his chest. He staggered back slightly before sinking to the ground and then laying on his back, completely lifeless.

Dagur grinned before releasing Astrid, tossing her forward. He called to all his soldiers to leave them.

"Ready the ships!" shouted Dagur to his soldiers as he sauntered away from Astrid. "We sail to Berk! Just wait and see what the people will say when they realize their heir is dead!"

He didn't even flinch as Astrid took the axe she had borrowed from that Berserker and cut the ropes holding Promise, and then moving on to Toothless. As soon as they were free, she raced over to Hiccup, the two dragons in tow, glaring daggers as Dagur and his men left.

By now, Dagur and his men were gone, leaving Astrid and the dragons alone with Hiccup. She ran over and shook him slightly, not daring to touch the arrow that stuck out of his chest for fear she'd only make it worse.

"Hiccup?" she asked.

No response.

"Hiccup!?" she asked again, this time grabbing his shoulders and lifting him up in her arms half-way. "HICCUP!?" she called again, fearing the worst. His face had gone ashen, all the color drained from it. If he was breathing, it was too shallow for Astrid to even notice.

Toothless and Promise came up behind her, Toothless roaring sadly at the sight of his rider. Toothless hurried over, plunkering down on the other side of Astrid, who was now holding Hiccup in her arms.

"Hiccup, please don't do this!" cried Astrid. "No no no no no no! Please! Hiccup! Hiccup say something! You can't be gone! You can't be! You're the best friend I've ever had! You can't just leave me! Toothless needs you! Everyone on Berk needs you! I need you!" She stressed the word "I" heavily as she now spoke through choked sobs. "You're more than a talking fish bone!" she cried, tears now streaming down from her face as she closed her eyes and gripped Hiccup firmly but gently, as if she wanted to hold him as tight as she possibly could, but at the same time afraid he'd shatter like glass if she did so. "You've _always _been more! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

She didn't know if he were alive or not, but she didn't care. If these were the last moments he could even hear her, she wanted to make it count. "Please, Hiccup!" she cried again. "All those fifteen years of your life I was horrible to you! I need to make up for all of it! You can't just go up and die on me, Hiccup! Not now! Not when we're so close! You can't-you wouldn't." She still kept her eyes firmly closed, afraid to look. She knew by now he would be dead; the arrow in his chest would kill him. But none the less, she continued talking.

"You mean so much to me," said Astrid. "You've done so much for the village. For-for everyone. Remember the time, on Thawfest, you sacrificed your winning to keep Snotlout's relationship with his father protected? Or what about the time you went out to help save Toothless from the Whispering Death, even though most of us didn't want to go."

At the mention of his name, Toothless cooed, nudging Hiccup's face with his muzzle. The boy did not respond in any way, and Astrid knew that, even though she had her eyes sealed shut tightly. She couldn't stop another tear from escaping.

"Wh-what about the t-time you saved m-me from the Flightmare?" Astrid reminded, her voice choppy thanks to her sobs, harsh breath and tears. "O-or when y-you helped Tuffnut g-get out of that tr-ap in the forest? Or when-" She stopped as tears choked her. She drew in a deep, shaky breath, not trusting herself to open her eyes. Toothless was looking at Hiccup, and then the dragon flopped backwards, moaning in terrible sorrow and agony.

"I'm sorry, for-for everything," Astrid stuttered, speaking through sobs. "I-I love you, Hiccup."

She brought her arms tightly around him again, careful not to touch the arrow, although now she was certain he was dead. She didn't open her eyes still; she was also certain there would be blood pooling around him where the arrow struck, and she couldn't bear to see it. She settled for holding Hiccup close, sobbing into his scalp.

Then she started bawling her eyes out in sorrow. Toothless wailed beside her, obviously heart broken. His rider was gone. Forever.

Astrid continued to sob heavily, her chest heaving as she gasped in for breaths, her tears not allowing her to do so. She couldn't believe it. She still refused to open her eyes. She refused to let herself see. It was her fault. If only she had told Dagur to shoot her, not that he would have listened, but she still thought it was her fault. She heard, along with Toothless' wailings, another whisper, but she ignored it, continuing to cry. It wasn't until the second time she heard the whisper that she finally stopped.

"Astrid?" said a weak, broken voice.

Astrid almost opened her eyes.

Almost.

_Almost. _

But she didn't trust herself to get her hopes up.

"Now I'm hearing things!" shouted Astrid.

"Astrid," said the voice again. "D-Did you r-really m-mean a-all that?"

She couldn't help it now. Her eyes shot open suddenly, and she looked down at Hiccup, fearing the worst...

...but his emerald green eyes were open. He was taking in long, deep breaths.

"HICCUP!" screamed Astrid in shock. Toothless jumped up suddenly, and began roaring with joy, bounding around the two youths as if he were dancing around a campfire. Promise did nothing too different, only she wasn't as graceful as the Night Fury.

Astrid wanted to say something really intelligent, just to let him know how worried she had been, but the only thing that came out of her mouth was: "YOU SHOULD BE DEAD!"

"Oh, man, sorry," said Hiccup, sounding disappointed. "If you're disappointed, I mean, I could still _die_-"

"You MORON!" shouted Astrid. "DO YOU KNOW HOW BADLY YOU SCARED ME, HICCUP!?" she screamed.

She looked down where the arrow was in his chest. She expected to see him covered in blood-but there was only the arrow. She now noticed that Hiccup didn't seem to be in any real pain, either.

Hiccup seemed to notice the arrow for the first time. He moved his arm, gripped the arrow, and yanked it.

"HICCUP!" yelled Astrid, worried he would only irritate his wound further. But when he pulled the arrow, it came out easily, not even a drop of blood on it.

"What-?" said Astrid.

Hiccup tossed the arrow away and yanked on the chain to the necklace, pulling it out from where it was tucked under his shirt, like he always wore it. The sand dollar Astrid had given him, for some reason, wasn't cracked even the slightest. There was a rather large dent in it from where the arrow had hit it-

Then it occurred to her. The sand dollar saved Hiccup's life. The sand dollar necklace she had given to him for his birthday only five months before. If she had given him anything different, he would be dead.

Hiccup and Astrid exchanged shocked glances, Hiccup holding the sand dollar in his left hand. He and Astrid continued to stare at each other for what seemed like a forever, Astrid looking down to where he still laid in her arms, and he looked up at her, until they both broke out laughing.

"I was shot," Hiccup said between laughs, "in the sand dollar!"

"You were shot in the _sand dollar!_" Astrid repeated what he just said through a bout of her own laughter.

"WHY is that so HILARIOUS!?" shouted Astrid.

"Absolutely no idea!" replied Hiccup through his own laughter.

After they finally finished laughing, Astrid set Hiccup down, helping him remain sitting upright.

"Why were you so unresponsive, though?" asked Astrid.

"The arrow must have knocked the wind out of me, and then I blacked out," said Hiccup. "It was weird. I could hear everything you were saying, but my body didn't listen to me when I told my eyes to open."

"Okay," said Astrid. She looked like she was just going to keep sitting there in silence, until she balled her fist and punched him in the arm.

"OW!" yelled Hiccup. "What-?"

Astrid sneered. "THAT'S for scaring me half to death!" she shouted. "And that's-" she hugged him tightly, "is for, y'know-not dying."

Hiccup smiled at her. Toothless eventually got tired of waiting his turn. He bounded over to his rider, nudging his side.

"Hey, bud!" shouted Hiccup. Toothless replied by running his tongue over Hiccup's face. "Aggh," Hiccup groaned, flicking the saliva off his face with his hands. He looked over at Astrid, who was just barely containing her laughter. "This doesn't wash out," said Hiccup flatly, flinging more off his face.

Astrid let out a soft laugh before standing and helping Hiccup to his feet. He was visibly shaking, probably from blacking out for a few minutes. He wobbled slightly when he was on his feet again, but it wasn't dangerously bad, and easily overlooked.

"The others?" Hiccup asked.

"Right," said Astrid. "We need to go get them, and then follow Dagur out. He said he was heading towards Berk."

Hiccup nodded, pulling himself weakly onto Toothless. Just before he did, though, he grabbed the arrow Dagur had shot at him and then made sure his shield was hooked on to Toothless' saddlebag, where he had put it right before battling the Blue Death. After seeing it was, he tucked the arrow in the dragon's saddlebag before wrapping his arms around his dragon's head.

"I missed you, bud," said Hiccup. "Let's go get the others, and then show Dagur who's boss, alright?"

Toothless grunted happily. Astrid moved over after making sure Hiccup wouldn't fall off the saddle and mounted Promise. Then, the two dragons took off in unison, flying towards the beach where they had left the other dragons and riders.


	12. Chapter 12

**IMPORTANT! Since I update reasonably fast, sometimes I think people skip chapters. This is my SECOND update today, meaning it is possible some of you didn't see the first update I did. Please go back and make sure you read chapter 11 before this, because you will be COMPLETELY and UTTERLY confused if you haven't yet read it. Just wanted to let you all know, talk to ya later! Free virtual yakbutter parfait! **

Ruffnut and Tuffnut paced restlessly, crashing into each other every time they passed each other, but taking no notice of it. It had been about another hour...no sign of Hiccup, Toothless, or Astrid. They were beginning to get worried...all of them, including Fishlegs, Snotlout and the dragons.

"UGH! They should be back by now!" shouted Snotlout angrily.

"Yes they should," said Tuffnut, acting as if he had not spoken at all.

"We've waited here too long!" Snotlout went on.

"Yes we have," said Tuffnut just like the first sentence he said.

"We have to help them!" shouted Snotlout.

"Yes we do," said Tuffnut.

"We can't just sit here and do nothing!"

"No we can't."

"They could be in big trouble!"

"With a capital B. No, T. Wait, would you capitalize the B, or the T?" asked Tuffnut. Fishlegs and Snotlout glared at him, so he stopped talking.

Suddenly, Stormfly's ears perked up, followed by Hookfang's, Meatlung's, and then Barf and Belch's.

"What is it, girl?" asked Fishlegs to his dragon. Meatlung replied by looking up into the sky. Fishlegs saw two dragons flying towards them, riders mounted on their backs. Fishlegs suddenly recognized one as a deep black dragon, which was a Night Fury, which meant it was obviously-

"It's Toothless!" shouted Fishlegs.

"Toothless?" Snotlout asked in disbelief, standing from where he was sitting on a rock. He looked up and saw Toothless coming towards them, a blue Monstrous Nightmare following him.

Toothless and Promise landed on the sand in front of the other riders and dragons. Astrid dismounted, while Hiccup did not, still recovering from getting his breath knocked out of him.

"Hiccup! Astrid!" shouted Fishlegs, running over to them, followed by Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut. He looked to the Monstrous Nightmare. "Who's your friend?"

"Her name is Promise," said Hiccup. "I trained her partially. She helped Astrid and I escape."

Snotlout stepped forward. "Well, I'm honestly glad you're alright," he said. "Not because I care, but because if you weren't, we'd be without a heir, and I'd probably be the one to tell Stoick that you died."

Fishlegs noticed Hiccup's slightly stunned look.

"Are you alright?" Fishlegs asked him.

"More or less," said Hiccup, honestly hating to break the moment of reunion. "Dagur's leading his armada to lay siege on Berk."

"WHAT!?" exclaimed Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut in the exact same, panicked tone, at the exact same time.

"There's honestly not much time," said Hiccup.

"Hiccup's right," said Astrid. "Dagur probably already had his armada ready while he captured Hiccup. If that's true, which I'm sure it is, it means Dagur could already be on his way to Berk."

"But we would have seen the boats pass, wouldn't we have?" asked Fishlegs.

"I think so," said Fishlegs. He would have continued, hadn't Hiccup spotted something that made his breath catch.

"Get down!" he ordered suddenly in a harsh whisper. The riders mounted their dragons and allowed them to dart into the forest. Once they were far enough in it, they turned around, allowing the riders to have full view of the vast ocean ahead of them, yet also be completely hidden.

"Why those lowly bastards," Snotlout grumbled. They watched as Dagur's ships rolled by at a remarkably fast pace. Not a quarter as fast as a dragon's pace, but faster than a normal ship's pace.

"Get a move on, men!" shouted Dagur. "Wait until those crumby Berkians hear that their heir is dead."

Everyone's eyes turned to Hiccup, besides Astrid's, who already knew Dagur thought he had killed Hiccup.

Hiccup noticed everyone's nervous gazes and waved them off. "He didn't," he assured. "He just thinks he did. Maybe it's better that way, too," Hiccup went on. "But we need to stop them."

"I say we take the dragons and blast their bastardly ships right out of the water!" shouted Snotlout, a man-in-action none the less.

"No, they're expecting that," said Hiccup. "They always are. You can see the bola launchers and catapults they have on the decks." He pointed, and the others looked. They saw what he was talking about.

"Without a distraction, it's too dangerous, but with a distraction, it brings danger to the person and dragon causing the distraction," said Hiccup.

"So, what's the plan?" asked Astrid, glad to have their leader back. He would know what to do; he always did. He smiled at Astrid, glad to be back with the riders of the Berk Dragon Training Academy.

"I'm going to fly Toothless out, and draw their first round of fire," said Hiccup. "While they're reloading, you go in for the finale. But NOT before."

Although the each wanted to reject, just having gotten Hiccup back, they knew Hiccup and Toothless had the best chance of dodging the bolas and rocks they fired at them. Hiccup patted Toothless, giving dragon leave to fly out.

Toothless got their attention by firing a plasma blast down at one of Dagur's ships. The plasma blast did just what Hiccup wanted it to.

"HICCUP!?" shouted Dagur in shock. "You're still ALIVE!?"

"THAT'S RIGHT!" shouted Hiccup.  
>"FIRE!" Dagur ordered. "TAKE-THEM-DOWN! I DON'T CARE HOW YOU DO IT! JUST DO IT!"<p>

The men aimed everything they had at the boy and dragon, and fired. Toothless dodged easily. Hiccup turned to the shore and yelled, "NOW!"

The other dragons and riders emerged, instantly going into attack mode.

The dragons flew over the ships, breathing fire down onto them. Men jumped overboard as the ships sank, one by one.

"NO!" shouted Dagur. "No no no no no NO NO NO NO!"

He ran towards one of the catapults, threw a stone into it, and aimed it straight at Astrid. He pulled the trigger, and would have hit Astrid full on if Fishlegs hadn't put Meatlung in between, telling the dragon to eat the rock.

"Good girl, Meatlung!" Fishlegs hugged his Gronckle's head, making Meatlung purr slightly.

Toothless blasted the rocks in midair as they came at them, Dagur getting more and more desperate. At one point, he even threw random weapons into the catapult and fired at will, which did absolutely nothing but waste swords and axes.

"YOU WILL PAY, HICCUP!" shouted Dagur. "YOU-WILL-PAY!"

Hiccup urged Toothless forward. Toothless did so, coming right for Dagur's ship. When he got as close as he dared, the Night Fury breathed in deeply, and then fired a plasma blast, straight at Dagur's ship. The ship rocked and shuddered. Toothless let out another blast on the same side. It continued until he blasted a reasonably large hole into the side of the ship. Water leaked through at an alarming rate.

"HICCUP!" shouted Dagur, looking around to see that the rest of his men were either retreating or trying to swim back to shore. "THIS ISN'T THE END!" With that, he and his ship sunk.

With that also, Hiccup was sure they had seen the last of Dagur the Deranged. But some other part of him told him otherwise.

"Come on, gang," said Hiccup. "Let's get back to Berk."

"I couldn't agree with you more," said Fishlegs.

"Thought you'd never ask," added Tuffnut and Ruffnut in unison.

Hiccup grinned before they steered their dragons back to Berk, away from Berserk.

Dagur pulled himself onto the shore, coughing and choking. He looked back just as the dragons and riders disappeared from sight.

"I WAS THIS CLOSE!" he shouted to one of his soldiers, making about an inch worth of distance between his thumb and his pointer finger. "THIS CLOSE!" he stressed.

"What should we do now, sir?" asked the soldier.

"Mend what ships are mendable!" ordered Dagur. "I don't care how long it takes! Months, years, maybe an eternity-just do it! As soon as the armada's rebuilt, we'll sail to Berk." Dagur sneered at the sky. "Don't worry, Hiccup," said Dagur. "I WILL have my revenge. They don't call me Dagur the Deranged-" He paused for dramatic effect, "-for _nothing_, now do they?"

He turned back to face the soldier. "Well!?" he shouted. "WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE!?"

The soldier ran off, calling all the able soldiers on the shore to come with him. Dagur growled to no one in particular, since he was alone, but it was meant for Hiccup.

He would get his revenge...

...and when he did...

...it wasn't going to be pretty.


	13. Chapter 13

**Okay, this is THE LAST chapter in the entire fanfic! WHOO! *virtual high fives to all* Just a couple of shout outs: **

**Forever Me: YES! BY ALL MEANS SEND THOSE TERRORS AFTER DAGUR! MAKE HIM PAY! I'm off to gather my Fireworm army (don't ask how I got it, either, because It's a secret). DEATH OR GLORY! DAGUR, YOU WILL PAY! (about time he did). **

**Other: This is my THIRD update today. If you missed the previous updates, I suggest going back and looking at chapters 12 and 11, just to make sure you read them, because you WILL NOT understand what's going on here if you haven't. **

**I will probably start posting the sequel to this story tonight. It will be titled "How Not To Ride Your Dragon". :) The concluding story to the "How Not To" series. Also, after I finish "How Not To Ride Your Dragon", I will be writing a one-shot series. Any suggestions, go ahead! I need them! :) Enjoy the last chapter!**

Berk was in sight sooner than later. Promise flew in between Toothless and Stormfly, following the other riders to said island.

"So," said Fishlegs, "how did you get Dagur to think he killed you?"

"Quite honestly," said Hiccup, "he just shot me and left me."

"HE DID WHAT!?" yelled Snotlout. "HOW DARE HE!? Hookfang, turn around! We're going to go make sure that deranged maniac is dead..."

"No, Snotlout!" shouted Hiccup. "He shot me, but the sand dollar Astrid gave me took the hit."

He took off the necklace and handed it to Fishlegs to examine it and the large dent in the center of it. Fishlegs looked amazed.

"But, quick question," said Snotlout. "Why didn't the sand dollar, you know...crack on impact? Arrows can travel remarkably fast, especially if fired from a crossbow. Was it?"

"It was," said Astrid. "Dagur's crossbow."

"I rest my case," said Snotlout.

"That's _because _it's NOT a sand dollar," said Fishlegs.

"What?" asked Astrid, Hiccup, Snotlout, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut in unison.

"What do you mean it's not?" asked Hiccup.

"It's a dragon scale," said Fishlegs, handing the necklace back to Hiccup.

"A dragon scale!" exclaimed Astrid, slapping her forehead. "How did I overlook something so obvious!?"

"To what dragon?" asked Hiccup, ignoring Astrid for the time being.

"I'm not sure," said Fishlegs, "but if I were to guess, I would say it's a Fireworm scale."

"Oh, well that makes sense," said Hiccup, putting the necklace back around his neck. "More sense than most of today."

As soon as Berk was in complete view, the dragons circled the island before coming to land in front of the academy.

"Do you think anyone even noticed we were gone?" asked Astrid. It was probably only around eight or nine o'clock at that point.

"Probably not," said Hiccup. "Maybe it's for the best. Okay, ready to start some training?"

"Hey, Hiccup!" Gobber greeted said boy as he strode into the forge a few hours later. "Nice of you to join the party." He continued hammering away at a sword he was building.

"Thanks," said Hiccup. "I think."

Astrid followed him shortly. "So, what did you say you were looking for?" she asked.

"A new connecting rod," said Hiccup. "I built it for Thawfest, only used it for Thawfest. I wanted to try it out again."

"It wasn't too bad of a rod if ya ask me," said Gobber.

"No it wasn't," said Astrid. "You two were blaring through the sky like a flaming arrow."

"Thanks," said Hiccup. "I think." He looked under his desk and pulled out the rod. It was still shimmering silver as sunlight glared on it.

"So, Hiccup," said Gobber, "you told me you guys were going to do some late night training yesterday on Dragon Island."

Hiccup and Astrid fell silent, staring at the blacksmith.

"How did it go?" asked Gobber.

"Oh, you know," said Hiccup. "The usual."

He and Astrid darted out of the forge before he could ask anymore questions. When they got out, Astrid punched Hiccup.

"The usual?" she asked.

"Hey, I didn't see you offering any suggestions!" Hiccup replied, rubbing his forearm with his other hand.

"Because I didn't have TIME!" shouted Astrid.

"You wouldn't have said anything anyway," said Hiccup.

Astrid opened her mouth to say something, but then quickly closed it. Hiccup grinned at her.

"Precisely as I suspected," he smirked.

"Fine," said Astrid. "Race you to the academy, Dragon Boy!" she shouted as she ran off suddenly in the other direction.

"Wait...WHAT!?" yelled Hiccup, chasing after her. "You can't just SAY something like that, and RUN OFF!"

"Just did!" shouted Astrid. "You gonna catch me or not!?"

Hiccup smiled and continued to run after her. Toothless and Stormfly watched in the distance.

THIS was going to be hilarious.

_**TO BE CONTINUED . . . **_

**YAY! Finally it's done! Completed! I can't BELIEVE it! Thanks to all who stood by me and read, faved, reviewed, or followed! The sequel WILL be a post-How To Train Your Dragon 2, so there WILL be spoilers (MAJOR SPOILERS!). I should begin posting that A.S.A.I.F.T.F.C. (As Soon As I Finish The First Chapter), and then continue posting! Thanks! Look for my new story soon! I post really quick because I just cannot STAND waiting too long before I do! :) Thanks again! Now I need to go stop my Fireworm from hurting Tuffnut...actually, on second thought, maybe I won't. (hehehehe). Bye! **


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